Starlight Ministries

Services

Van outreach - Teams of 5-10 volunteers and staff serve from 20-100 people who are homeless every Wednesday evening on the Boston Common and Thursday evening in Harvard Square, regardless of weather. During outreach, we check in with both old and new participants and provide food, clothing, first aid, counseling, and referral to services.

Day outreach - Starlight staff conduct outreach four days a week in Downtown Crossing, the Boston Common, Copley Square and the South End. Staff seek to build trusting relationships with individuals who are often reluctant to access larger institutions like shelters. Through these relationships many have begun the transition off the street.

RYSE (Reaching Youth on the Streets) outreach - Starlight staff conduct outreach to homeless youth in Boston and Cambridge four days a week, often between 1:00-9:00pm. Starlight's youth outreach is only one of two programs in the city that have paid homeless youth outreach workers and is the only program to have outreach on Saturdays.

Opportunity Resource Center - In November 2003, Starlight opened its Opportunity Resource Center at its office in the South End. The ORC provides a safe and supportive environment two days a week where people who are homeless (or are at risk of becoming homeless or formerly were homeless) can meet with Starlight staff and trained volunteers and staff. We currently provide coffee, clothing, a shower, Mass. Health sign up, free voice mail, case management, a 12-step group, special events and resource information.

We have general group orientation or workshops that are open to people interested in learning more about our area of focus.

Location:
Emmanuel Gospel Center 2 San Juan Street Boston, MA 02118 By Subway: We are about a 10-minute walk from Copley Square. You can take either the Orange Line to Back Bay Station or the Green Line to Copley. Walk up Dartmouth Street, away from Copley Square and into the South End. After several blocks, Dartmouth Street crosses Tremont Street, veers slightly left and changes its name to West Dedham Street. Walk one block up West Dedham Street to Shawmut Avenue. Turn right on Shawmut Avenue and walk one short block to San Juan Street. Turn right on San Juan Street, and we are the first building on the right. For further directions visit our website at: http://www.egc.org/contact/#Directions


How volunteers relate to our mission
Starlight hopes to give volunteers the opportunity to experience a faith-based approach to working with homeless individuals by equipping them to build relationships with individuals on the streets, understand the different components of homelessness, articulate the issues of homelessness to others in their lives (friends/family/church/work/school), and most importantly to grow in their understanding and heart for God's mandate to love and care for the poor.

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40 NIV